To Surf or Not to Surf Internet Policy

Class Assignment:  "To Surf or Not to Surf"

Dear Students,

Review the class assignment below and establish a company policy based on the guidelines provided in the instructions below.

“TO SURF OR NOT TO SURF”

A recent survey by America Online and Salary.com found that the average worker admits to wasting 2.09 hours per eight-hour workday and that 44.7 percent of those surveyed reported Internet surfing as their No. 1 distraction
at work.

Most reasonable persons would agree that some use of the Internet for personal reasons is acceptable as long as it does not interfere with overall work performance. Clearly, it is up to the employer to determine what type of computer and Internet use is acceptable and to educate its employees as to those guidelines and restrictions.

“Pupster Dog Fashions” is both a retail and an online operation, employing four in-store sales persons, eight customer-service and order-processing employees, a retail manager, an online manager, and two people in packing and shipping. Pupster’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday for the retail store, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the online operation. All employees work a standard eight-hour day with an hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks.

In your groups, develop a policy and set of guidelines for computer/Internet usage for Pupster Dog Fashions. You have 20 minutes. Be as specific as possible in developing your guidelines.

Your policy should contain the following elements:

• Statement of Policy (guiding principles)
• Specific Guidelines
• Monitoring Policy
• Penalties for Violations

“To Surf or Not to Surf” Assignment Guidelines

Statement of Policy: This should be a general set of guiding principles and attitudes that lead to specific guidelines. On one extreme, some may feel that all paid time and equipment should be used for work-related matters only. On the other, some may feel that as long as the work gets done, the employees of Pupster should be allowed to use the Internet whenever they choose.

Specific Guidelines: The guidelines should specifically outline the policy. For example, they
might include:

• Whether or not employees are allowed to browse the Web for personal use
• When they can do so
• Whether employees are allowed to play games on the computer and when
• What Web activity must be avoided such as:
• downloading offensive content.
• threatening behavior or e-mails.
• illegal activities.

Monitoring Policy: The monitoring policy should clearly spell out how much privacy employees can expect and how Web use will be monitored.

Penalties for Violations: This section should clearly delineate what action will be taken if the guidelines are violated. For example, playing solitaire at the wrong time might elicit a warning, while sending a threatening e-mail might be cause for dismissal.